Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 12,052 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in American Express by 7.1%, owning 182,452 shares valued at approximately $48.98 million as of the last quarter.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target for American Express at $311.05, with varied ratings including two sell ratings and sixteen hold ratings.
• Recent insider trading included significant sales by Anna Marrs and Glenda G. Mcneal, with a total of 134,219 shares sold worth over $40 million in the last ninety days.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,452 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,052 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in American Express were worth $48,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of AXP stock traded down $2.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $305.36. 2,727,229 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,531,360. The firm has a market cap of $212.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.34.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.